(Sektion Deutschland) e.V., Hannover SANDRA MARTINO DIGNITAS-Germany: 10 years of dealing with politics The efforts of Dignitas-Germany in changing a conservative political climate Since 1871, assistance with suicide is not a crime in Germany. Or better: was not a crime… Nevertheless, since the founding of DIGNITAS-Germany con- servative representatives of the German political establishment have tried to close down our association and to prohibit or narrow the freedom to decide on time and manner of people’s own end in life. The association DIGNITAS – Menschenwürdig leben – Menschenwürdig sterben (Sektion Deutschland) e.V. was founded by initiative of German citizens on Sep- tember 26th 2005 in Hannover, in the German Federal State Lower Saxony. At the foundation meeting, Ludwig A. Minelli became first chairman of the associa- tion and declared the objectives and purpose of DIGNITAS-Germany as follows: “The foundation of DIGNITAS in Germany is an act on the level of the European Home Affairs. European Home Affairs mean that everyone within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights has the right to interfere officially with the policy of the respective nation with intent to assert these human rights. There- fore DIGNITAS-Germany wants first and foremost to change the German debate on assisted dying so that the claim for voluntary euthanasia – which infringes the worldwide biggest taboo – will be replaced by the claim for the possibility of ac- companied suicide. In our opinion, the actual European legal position is already allowing the claim for such a riskless suicide procedure. It is the aim of DIGNITAS- Germany to assert the right of self-determination of every human being in regard of his/her own demise. This is achieved through information of politicians on the one hand and through raising the relevant questions directly before the appropri- 1 ate courts on the other hand.” On the very same day of the foundation of DIGNITAS-Germany, the minister of social affairs of Lower Saxony, Ursula von der Leyen (Cristian Democratic Un- ion CDU), who is a medical doctor by the way, and the evangelic bishop at that time, Margot Kässmann, issued a joint declaration calling for actions against DIGNITAS. They declared: “Dignitas is following the absolutely wrong way. What we need is a strong Palliative Care to enable our society to accompany dying persons on a painless and dignified way to death.” This statement shows clearly 1 http://www.dignitas.ch/images/stories/pdf/diginpublic/referat-aufgabe-dignitate-deutschland-26092005.pdf DIGNITAS Germany: 10 years of dealing with politics page 1 of 10 the attitude of the Christian politicians and the German health industry. They think to know better what’s good for everyone and intend to keep people’s desti- ny under their control until the very end. And they want them to spend as much time as possible in hospitals and care homes because that is something from which they earn good money. However, according to an article of the “Deutsche Ärztezeitung”2 in 2014 there were still 100 palliative-teams lacking in Germany. Subsequently, the Lower Saxon justice minister, Elisabeth Heister-Neumann (CDU), had a Federal Initiative drafted aiming at introducing an article in the German Criminal Code which foresaw five years imprisonment or a fine for any- one who would intend to incite the suicide of another person and repeatedly pro- cure the opportunity to do so. But as all this was done without the political coali- tion’s agreement, the coalition partner Free Democratic Party of Lower Saxony (FDP) felt left out and did not get into the CDU’s negative argumentation. On the contrary, the FDP treated this matter on a very objective basis and organised a high-profile conference on this subject in Hannover, where the first chairman of 3 DIGNITAS-Germany got the opportunity to argue his point of view . After that, Heister-Neumann’s intention to adopt a prohibitive law failed. But the Cristian Democratic Union (CDU) did not give up. Two months later, the CDU governed Federal States Saarland, Hessen and Thuringia took over Heister- Neumann’s draft for a Federal Initiative and submitted it to the German Federal Assembly. Hereupon, the board of DIGNITAS-Germany sent a detailed submission to all the 172 members of the German Federal Assembly rebutting false assertions in the introduction of the legislative proposal and pointing out that the planned law would most likely contravene article 8 of the European Convention on Hu- man Rights. Furthermore this submission disproved the claim that without such a prohibition law the number of suicides would rise considerably: Organisations like DIGNITAS or EXIT in Switzerland which can help with an accompanied sui- cide are credible in the eyes of those who seek help. This opens the door to a con- versation, without moralising, without taboo and without patronising in which, together with these individuals, it can be discussed whether there is a sensible, attainable solution towards life for their problem. In this way, many desperate in- dividuals facing a life crisis and difficult health situations could be helped to live on. Since the foundation of DIGNITAS and EXIT in Switzerland, even a decline of the suicide rate can be seen. Therefore the inhuman legal situation regarding end- of-life matters in Germany has to be changed in a way that the one who has taken the self-determined, thoroughly considered decision to end the own life • does not have to switch to inappropriate methods because the only medication which is leading to a risk- and painless death is not approved in Germany. • does not to be left all alone during the dying phase, because the accompany- ing person(s) could be accused of non-assistance of a person in danger. 2 http://www.aerztezeitung.de/politik_gesellschaft/sterbehilfe_begleitung/?sid=870173#comment 3 http://www.dignitas.ch/images/stories/pdf/diginpublic/referat-essentialien-zur-praxis-fraktionfdp-28112005.pdf DIGNITAS Germany: 10 years of dealing with politics page 2 of 10 After even the German Jurists' Conference spoke clearly against the foreseen criminal law article and stated just as clear a legal possibility pro assisted suicide, political observers assumed that the Federal Initiative would not stand a chance. But even if the Federal States Assembly would have accepted the initiative, DIG- NITAS-Germany would not have remained petrified by fear. It would have been an opportunity to discuss right-to-die matters on the level of the German Federal Parliament, something that had been long overdue. In April 2008, the Federal States of Baden Württemberg and Bavaria submitted legal proposals to the Federal States Assembly in order to outlaw Suicide- Assistance-Organisations – however, without any success. In this time, the board members of DIGNITAS-Germany were very active in public. They participated in reputable TV-shows, panel discussions, expert conferences – for example at the German Judicial Academy where 44 judges and states attor- neys (all specialised in the subject of assisted dying) discussed the legislative proposal – and interviews were given to journalists. On the 4th of July 2008, the Federal Initiative of Saarland, Hessen und Thuringia was finally rejected as being in conflict with the constitution, with the German basic law – that means, it was not even submitted to the vote. As a counterweight to the attempt of the CDU to adopt a law prohibiting assisted suicide, the physician and second chairman of DIGNITAS-Germany, Uwe Arnold, opened another front against the German Medical Association and their profes- sional code, which strongly aimed to narrow down the right of self-determination not only of the patient at the end of life but also of the physician willing to help with a legal assisted suicide. In March 2007, he created a website4 where numer- ous healthcare professionals expressed their support for the right to assisted dy- ing. Three months later he told a journalist to have already helped people to end their lives and announced that DIGNITAS would set a precedent by assisting a ter- minally ill person with suicide within German territory. In this context, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, officially stated at the CDU’s party convention: “I am absolutely against any sort of active euthanasia. Dignitas’ procedure is not compatible with the constitution. Even the organisation’s name “Dignitas” (Latin word for dignity) is the ultimate piece of impudence.” Her attitude is self- explanatory. Thereupon, the Medical Association of Berlin applied a prohibition order against Uwe Arnold, threatening him with a fine of 50’000 Euros in case he would give the relevant medication to someone for a suicide. In turn, he lodged the complaint against the regional medical associations of Berlin and Thuringia which tried to ban him from helping people with a legal accompanied suicide. Whilst the judgement in first instance protected the action of the Medical Associ- th ations, on the 30 March 2012, the Administrative Court of Berlin decided in 4 http://www.prosterbehilfe.de/ DIGNITAS Germany: 10 years of dealing with politics page 3 of 10 favour of Uwe Arnold and repealed the prohibition order.5 The court attributed a higher value to the physician’s right for freedom of belief and conscience (article 4 of the German constitution) and the right for freedom to practice a profession (article 12 of the German constitution) than to the professional code of the Medi- cal Association. In the meantime, the German Medical Association decided at the German Con- gress of Physicians in 2011 to adapt the Sample Professional Code of Conduct in order to provide German physicians with “a better orientation” in dealing with dying persons. The new wording was: “All physicians have to bestead dying per- sons under full protection of their dignity and their will.